PLYMOUTH, Minn.-- The 2013 North Central Softball season got underway on Thursday at the Plymouth Creek Dome. North Central hosts an annual four team dome tournament that features a triple-header for each team on a Thursday and Friday in March. The Rams lost their first two games in near miss fashion before having the third game stopped due to time constraints.

Game one saw North Central (0-2, 0-0) fall 9-8 to Maranatha Baptist Bible College (Watertown, Wis.) in nine innings. NCU fell behind 3-0 in the first inning before rallying back to tie the game in the sixth inning. Both teams would add a pair of runs in the eighth before the Crusaders put up four in the top of the ninth. North Central only responded with three in the bottom of the inning to come up short in their first game of 2013.

The Rams first scoring rally of year the began when junior Rachel Ritter (Duncansville, Pa./Holidaysburg) led off the bottom of the third inning with walk and stole second. Then sophomore Keshia Carpentier (Coon Rapids, Minn./Anoka Ramsey CC) singled to center field moving Ritter to third. Senior Elisabeth Trickey (Waseca, Minn./Waseca) then drove a ball to deep right field that was bobbled and dropped by the right fielder allowing both Ritter and Carpentier to score. Trickey was able to reach third on the play but NCU could do no further damage.

NCU got a game tying run in the sixth when senior Hannah Gordon (Boise, Idaho/Centennial) led off with a double to deep center field, advanced to third on a sacrifice by freshman Megan Myers (Cannon Falls, Minn./Randolf) and then scored on a passed ball.

Because the game was under time constraints being played in a rented facility, when the teams reached extra innings both agreed to begin using international softball rules that allow the teams to start with a runner on second base. The Rams took advantage at the plate but could not get enough runs to avoid a tough loss.

Hannah Gordon singled to start the NCU rally in the eighth to score senior Bethany Bostron (Spicer, Minn./Bostron Academy), the complimentary runner on second. Gordon moved to second on a throw to the plate. Megan Myers then reached on an error and then the next at bat freshman Rachel Thearin (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) singled to score Gordon. But NCU could not get any of the two remaining base runners home safely.

It looked like NCU might rally back from a 9-5 deficit in the bottom of the ninth but their final effort came up short. Rachel Ritter was the Rams courtesy runner in the inning and Keshia Carpentier brought her home with an RBI double to begin the inning. Elisabeth Trickey then reached on a single the first baseman could not get to in time tag her out and moved Carpentier to third. Bethany Bostron then bunted safely to score Carpentier and move Trickey to third. Hannah Gordon ground out to third but knocked in Trickey and moved Bostron to second with two outs but that was as close as NCU could come.

Game two saw NCU jump out 3-1 on Martin Luther College (New Ulm, Minn.) over the first four innings. Martin Luther got a run back in the fourth before each team added a pair in the fifth to make the score 5-4. Neither game plated a run in the sixth and NCU was three outs away from their first victory of the year. But Martin Luther exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh and the Rams could not respond to drop the game 10-5.

The Rams took control of game three versus Presentation College (Aberdeen, S.D.) with a three run home run to deep right field from freshman Meryn Garvey (Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt) that made things 4-0 after an inning. Megan Myers then smacked another home run in the second that made the score 7-1. But the game was stopped in the middle of the 4th inning with NCU still in front 7-1 due to time contraints regarding the dome facility rental. The game will resume tomorrow with NCU batting in the bottom of the fourth.